Body Piercing

Body piercers perform piercing services, including earlobe piercing, in licensed facilities. Body piercers must adhere to stringent universal precautions for sterilization of needles and equipment, biohazard waste disposal and infection control practices formulated to state and national standards.

Standard body piercing includes all body piercings with the exception of specialty level one piercings and specialty level two piercings. Standard body piercing services do not include testes, deep shaft (corpus cavernosa), uvula, eyelids, or sub-clavicle piercings.

Earlobe Piercing

Earlobe piercers are limited providing services on the soft lower part of the external ear only, not to include cartilage. Earlobe piercers are limited to only using a earlobe piercing system which includes pre-sterilized encapsulated stud and clasp system. Earlobe piercers must perform services in a licensed body art facility. Earlobe piercers have specific safety and infection control regulations which must be followed.

Electrology

Electrologists, through a series of treatments, permanently remove hair from the skin by inserting a sterile needle-conductor into the hair follicle and directing electrical energy toward the hair cell. Electrologists work in private practice, in cosmetology facilities, and in collaboration with dermatologists.

Tattooing

Tattoo artists mark or color the skin by inserting nontoxic dyes or pigments into or under the dermal portion of the skin using single-use or sterile needles to form indelible marks for figurative, decorative, cosmetic or medical purposes.

Body Art Facilities

Those providing services to the public in body piercing, electrology, tattooing and other body art fields of practice (scarification and dermal implanting are currently prohibited) must also obtain a facility license in addition to individual practitioner licenses.

Under the Board of Body Art Practitioners, a new body art facility license became effective January 1, 2012. Those issued a body art facility license may provide services to the public in body piercing, electrology and tattooing (and scarification and dermal implanting when the current prohibition is lifted).

Facility Licenses Before 2012

Facility licenses issued prior to January 1, 2012 limit facility license holders to provide services only in the individual field of practice for which the facility license was issued. In other words:

Body piercing can be provided only in a licensed body piercing facility.

Electrology can be provided only in a licensed electrology facility.

Tattooing can be provided only in a licensed tattoo facility.

Facility license holders issued individual field of practice facility licenses prior to January 1, 2012 may continue to provide services only for the specific field of practice for which the facility license was orignally issued.

These individual field of practice facility license holders must apply and qualify for a new body art facility license on or before the electrology, body piercing or tattoo license becomes inactive.

Other Facility Types, Forms

Body Art Facility Count

The number of active body art facility licenses shown in Licensing by the Numbers reflects the total number of body art facility licenses issued since January 1, 2012.

The number of body art facility licenses will gradually increase and the number of individual field of practice facility licenses will decrease and eventually be phased out as body piercing, electrology and tattooing facility license holders switch to a body art facility license upon renewal.